With so many people (often on radio or television) mispronouncing words, or mangling English grammar, the question becomes: who decides what is and what is not good English?
In France they have something called the French Academy (the Académie Française).
The Académie was officially established in 1635.
It was abolished during the French Revolution and then re-established (by Napoleon) in 1803.
The Académie is France's official authority on the usage, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language.
There is nothing similar for the English language.
If memory serves me correctly, back in the 1700s one of the great writers (I think it was Jonanthan Swift) proposed a similar English Academy be established. It never happened.
So, without an English Academy who decides what is or is not good English?
The answer is: you do.
The rules aren’t decided by some academics in their university ivory towers.
They are even decided by me in my role as a public wordsmith!
You control the English language.
Not you alone of course—but you as a member of the global English-speaking community.
In the end, English is the most democratic institution on earth.
In the English language usage rules everything.
What most people do is what becomes correct.
So, you ask, what about the people who step out of line?
Can we not tell them they are wrong?
Yes, we can.
If they are making themselves look foolish by mispronouncing a word or mangling a simple statement, we can tactfully and quietly put them back on track.
We can tell them that their usage is ‘non-standard’—and, hence, to educated people they will sound ignorant.
And we can certainly help the children around us to speak well.
Apart from that, our responsibility to English correctness is to always aim to use correct English ourselves.
Each individual is a self-governing state in the empire of English.
And on the correctness front we are responsible for ourselves.
So, there you are—you are in charge!
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